“And it shall come to pass, as soon as the soles of the feet of the priests that bear the ark of the LORD, the Lord of all the earth, shall rest in the waters of Jordan, that the waters of Jordan shall be cut off from the waters that come down from above; and they shall stand upon an heap.” (Joshua 3.13)

“Without faith it is impossible to please God..” (Hebrews 11.6)

The priests say “yes”, step into the flood waters of the Jordan and the river stops. Moses says “yes”, raises the rod and the Red Sea parts. Abraham says “yes”, leaves his home and God brings him to the Promised Land. Mary says “yes” and the Messiah is born. Jesus says “yes” and the redemption of man is complete on the cross and through the tomb. We say “yes” and we recieve the forgiveness of sin and the adoption of the Father.

My dad pastors a small church in Cabot. They run about 150 in worship on a good Sunday. Their men had a meeting the other day and decided that they wanted to take up an offering for the five missionaries they support. They take this offering every year on the last Sunday before Christmas but this year was to be different. This year they wanted to take up an offering of at least $10,000. They wanted to be certain of reaching the goal so it was agreed upon that if the $10,000 was not reached the remaining funds necessary would be taken out of the general fund.

That’s a pretty tall order for that size church. I’m no math major but I think that if everyone attending donated $70 they’d be just over their goal. That is a step of faith. It also was about to be a drain on their general fund if they didn’t make it. Times being what they are, it was risky but they wanted to bless the guys in “in the field” and they figured it was worth the cost.

Sunday came and dad opened the church doors for Sunday School. In his words “one of his little widow ladies” walked up to him and said, “Brother Ben, would you please put this check in the mission offering for me?” Dad thanked her and assured her that he would.

Sunday school came and went and the worship began. The goal was expressed and the people were ready. Prayer was offered and the plates were passed. The sermon was given, the invitation played, and the benediction spoken. The folks were excited to know whether they had reached the goal or if they were going to have to suppliment funds from the general account.

The people came with a mind to give and when the offering was counted they had recieved just over $10,000 during the worship time. Oh yeah, the widow’s check. It was for $12, $12,000 that is. My dad’s church had recieved over $22,000. Is that amazing or what? They stepped out on faith and God stepped in with blessings.

“Give and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” (Luke 6.38)

Say “yes”!